Tuesday, November 17

Eat Christmas Cookies, Season 3! A Food Blog(ga) Event

The holiday season is officially here. This I know for sure, not because of the blustery weather -- it's in the high 70s -- but because stores are packed with singing Santas and silver tinsel, I counted seven Christmas commercials during the Sunday Night football game, and I just returned from the store where I executed an impulsive shopping trip of epic proportions. I blame it on the Christmas music that was playing.

Currently in my pantry, I have 10 pounds each of all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, white sugar, and brown sugar. I've got fresh containers of baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, powdered buttermilk, and three cans of sweetened condensed milk. I've got every chip imaginable: semi-sweet, dark, milk, white, and peanut butter. Well, that is, except for cinnamon chips. I'm seriously starting to doubt their existence. Five-pound bags of nuts from pecans to cashews share a shelf with raisins, dates, apricots, cranberries, and candied ginger. My two-tier lazy Susan is weighted down with bottles of every flavor extract I could get my hands on, including coconut and maple walnut. Then there's molasses, peanut butter, maple syrup, and POM, just in case.

Oh, and I can't forget the decorations: confectioner's sugar, festive Christmas sprinkles, and jimmies (chocolate sprinkles for you non-Rhode Islanders). I even picked up a box of Santa Claus printed paper cups for fudge and truffles. And a box of candy canes. Not for baking, but for eating on the way home, since I was suffering from hypoglycemia after all that shopping.

Did I mention that I have an overwhelming desire to bake cookies? Dozens, even hundreds?

That's how I know the holiday season is officially here. Today I'm happy to announce Eat Christmas Cookies, Season 3! That's right. It's time to bake and swap your favorite Christmas cookies with us. Check out the amazing round-ups from Season 1 and Season 2, which include hundreds of spectacular Christmas cookies from around the world.

So start baking and send me any and all Christmas cookies; truffles, bark, and brownies count too. Just no pies, cakes, or muffins, please. Santa really prefers cookies.

Here's how you can participate:

Post about a Christmas cookie from today, November 17th through Sunday,December 20th at midnight PST. I will be posting your recipes as I receive them, so the earlier you send them in, the more likely someone else will see your recipe and try it for Christmas.

If you know how to re-size pictures, then please send along a 200 X 200 pixel pic of your cookies. If I don't see a re-sized pic attached, then I'll come get it at your blog.

Multiple entries are great, but please submit only new, current posts.

Don’t have a blog but would like to participate? No problem. Just email me your name, location, recipe, and brief description or story about the cookies. Please attach a 200 X 200 pixel picture to the email if you’d like it to accompany your recipe.

Like years past, there will be prizes, but Santa hasn't decided on them all yet. So stay tuned!

Questions? Comments? Cookies? Leave them below or Email me. Well, just leave the questions and the comments below. For the cookies, I'd recommend FedEx.

I just knew you would do this again! Last year I baked over a thousand cookies, but didn't yet have a blog. I got many ideas from yours though. I can barely think about Thanksgiving this year; my thoughts are already on Christmas cookies.

I agree about the cinnamon chips. I looked at every grocery store we have in town and not one store had them. 2 stores said they would get then for the holiday but they weren't with the dozen other kinds of chips they had sitting on the isle for christmas. I wonder!I'm in on the cookies. I'll be sending a link soon, if not several. ;)

Squeee! Susan, this is one of my favorite blogging events! I'm so glad you decided to host again this year! I can't wait to start looking through my multitude of cookie recipes and decide which one to send in! :)

I don't have a blog {yet} but will email you a cookie recipe. I heard about the cinnamon chips at King Arthur Flour via www.yummery.com. I wish my pantry was stocked as well as yours for the holiday baking! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. {I'm going to be making your grandmother's rice pie again. It was really a hit at Easter.} Dani

Over here in NY we have cinnamon chips AND butterscotch chips, which I see wasn't mentioned in your list! I think one of the best cookies on earth are oatmeal scotchies! I'm excited to join in too! I need to hit up my local bulk store and stock up too! This sounds like so much fun!

I'd love to participate, but I'm actually baking a cookie this year from a participant's entry in last years 'eat christmas cookies' event (http://cherrapeno.blogspot.com/2007/12/pecan-pie-cookies.html). Doesn't seem right that I would enter their cookie! Ha.

jUST found u and boy am i happy....got here thru Megans blog and its just the kinda cookie eating i wanna indulge in-am aiming at 12 cookies beginin 1st dec-can i send 'em all?please say yes!!!Have just linked by my last 3 and one am still uploading another recent post....and sending the emails right away too!!!!

I love how u picked up and stocked ur ingredients-feels like a mini santa bakery runnin there and i love that feeling....me would go beserk(in a happy way)@ store like that specially with sprinkles in Christmas colors and snowy flakes & hearts and...lemme leave specify my preferences-will take an awfull lot of place...all these elude me here-not a single store stocks on 'em...will u belive that i haven been able to find gel/paste colors & glitter for the last 8 months....Well actually began writng coz of ur beautiful narration of ur cutie stori...i had a nice 'i understand' grin plastered all throughout......loving it.....

I'm late this year but just posted something for your event Susan! I has\d so many more cookies to do, but ife had other plans...sigh! Thank you for hosting this beautiful event! xoxohttp://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/2009/12/fresh-ginger-cake-fresh-ginger.html